Human
by SilentAnokoku
Summary: "Well, Izaya has been feeling rather badly, but as usual he's avoiding talking to me about it. So, since he and Shizuo both are feeling less than okay I'm going to have them chat with each other but they'll never know who the other is !" Eventual Shizaya
1. Chapter 1

_I DO NOT OWN DURARARA!_

_I hope you don't the many scene skips, this is mainly set up...though I don't like how many breaks there are terribly much either._

_Anyways, Enjoy~~~_

* * *

"Hey, Namie. What makes humans human, do you think?" Izaya said, his voice a bit more hushed than usual. If not for the fact that his back was turned to the secretary, she would have seen the lack of a smirk upon his face. All that was there was a ghost a smile.

"Something you obviously lack," the woman deadpanned as she proceeded to pack up her possessions.  
"Oh~ So cruel~ Maybe I should fire you," the information broker suggested darkly.  
"I have to go home. So if you'll excuse me," Namie said stonily before briskly exiting.

He chuckled bitterly, and flicked over the white queen with the black king in his hand.

Now standing alone on the checkered battlefield were two lone kings, both somehow having managed to outlive all of the other pieces.

Sitting back, a smile spread across Izaya's face. However, the smile did not reach his eyes. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Ah, Shizu-chan...You and I are perhaps the most inhuman of them all." He then laughed, "Hell! We're probably even less human than _Celty_..! Heh...We two kings...Constantly battling with each other and the world..." The pale man's smile faltered briefly, then being reborn upon his lips, reaching his cold eyes even less than before. "The world fears you...and hates me..."

Carefully, as though afraid of breaking, he curled his legs up to his chest and hugged them. He looked out the window at the vibrant sunset and sighed, "At least you can try to tame what makes them fear you...I can't stop being me..."

Tightening the grip around his legs, he buried his face in his knees. As his eyes began to sting, he breathed deeply.

Just because he was alone didn't mean he needed less control.

* * *

"Ugh..." Shizuo grunted as he fixed his glasses. Typically, he wouldn't have considered this day to be so bad. The flea hadn't even set foot in Ikebukuro and one debtor re-payed the money which he owed.

One debtor out of twenty-three that is...

"I still can't believe you lifted that bus...At least there was no one in it..." Tom said, walking beside the taller man.  
"...Sorry," the blond mumbled, his shoulders slumping slightly.  
The older man chuckled and patted the ex-bartender's shoulder, "Don't be so hard on yourself. You probably were just having an off day."  
"In that case I always have off days..." he muttered quietly.  
Tom rolled his eyes, "It's fine- look, let's get a drink. It'll help."  
"No, thanks. I don't...I don't like the taste of alcohol."  
"All right, all right. Suit yourself. Go blow of some steam somehow, 'kay?"  
"Yeah..."

The bodyguard watched the other man walk away before turning away and wandering home.

'_More so I don't trust myself with alcohol...I don't want to know what I'm like drunk; when I supposedly have even _less _self-control than usual...It scares me..._'

* * *

Shinra stepped onto the train, a beaming smile upon his face as he thought of the headless woman awaiting him at home. He hardly noticed the man sporting a fur-hemmed jacket beside him.

"Shinra," a voice said suavely, "I'm hurt, you didn't notice me~."  
"Eh? Izaya? Oh, I was so busy th-"  
"Thinking about Celty. I figured as much," the slender man chuckled, a mischievous smirk on his lips. But no playful light was dancing in his reddish-brown eyes.  
The bespectacled doctor grinned momentarily, before noticing the lack of life in his eyes. He frowned slightly, "Izaya, what's wrong?"  
"Hmm? Wrong~? What could possibly be wrong~?"  
"_Izaya_," Shinra said sternly, looking over the top rim of his glasses.  
The information broker grew silent for a moment. He then feigned innocence and batted his eyelashes, "Shinra?"  
"I know when you're bothered. I've been around you enough to tell."  
"You're such a worrywart~" Izaya grinned, his eyes as untouched by the expression as before. He then skipped off the now halted train.

The doctor sighed and shook his head, "This isn't even your stop or mine...You really do always run away from things when you can't control them...Not that you'll ever admit it."

Several stops later, Shinra got off at Ikebukuro. He was surprised to see when he got outside, Shizuo leaned against a lamp post. Judging by the slowly growing pile of cigarette butts by him, he was more agitated than usual.

"Hey, Shizuo," the black haired man called over to the blond.  
"Eh?" the taller man grunted, annoyance visible on his face before he recognized the doctor. "Oh...Shinra, hey." The bodyguard took one last long drag out of his cigarette before crushing it underfoot.  
"Something bugging you?"  
"...When isn't something?" Shizuo responded wryly.  
"Heh, good point. Well, feel free to come by sometime if you need, kay?"  
A small grateful smile was visible on his friend's face, "Yeah..thanks for the offer Shinra."  
"Mhmm~ Well, I'm off to see my simply gorgeous wife-to-be~~~"  
The ex-bartender nodded, his face blank once more. Blank besides the emotions in his eyes which were clouded behind his sunglasses.

As he walked away Shinra sighed and muttered to himself, "You know, Shizuo... if it really bothers you how I'm always talking about being in love, you should just say something. But then again, what do I expect befriending such a lonely person. Ah, but at least you're not as messed up as Izaya...Only my friends..only my friends." He chuckled to himself quietly.

* * *

_I should really stop starting so many fanfictions at once..._

_Anyways, I hope you like this so far. I know it's short but this is pretty much just exposition. Next chapter will go more in depth with the characters (at least that's what I have planned for the moment)_

_I blame this on listening to a lot of sad songs over and over again.  
__And now I stop avoiding my homework..._

_Feedback? (ex. in/out of character-ness, grammar, spelling, anything in general)_

_Until next time~~_


	2. Chapter 2

__

_I DO NOT OWN DURARARA!_

_I should probalby be doing homework...Ah well._

_Enjoy~_

* * *

Having arrived at his offices a bit later than he had anticipated, Izaya dove right into his work. He didn't give his mind time to wander.

However, he soon ran out of things to do, business being mostly taken care of and the chat-rooms vacant.

Standing up, the black haired man set a kettle of water on the stove and then seated himself in front of the television. He reached for the remote but stared at the dark screen, reflecting him and the room.

The _empty_ room.

Izaya bit his lip, his eyes looking pained even in his reflection, and hastily turned on the television. Flicking to a cheery, obnoxious, nonsensical children's show, he then lay down and pulled his jacket close around him. Shakily, he sighed.

"I should be used to all of this by now..."

* * *

Shinra dried off his hands on his apron and hummed happily to himself as he walked over to the ringing phone. He glanced out the window at the beaming morning sun and pressed the talk button.

"He-" the black haired man began but was cut off by such a loud ruckus in the background that he pulled the phone away from his ear.  
"_DON'T YOU SHITHEADS EVEN HAVE THE DECENCY TO TELL THE TRUTH WHEN YOU CAN'T PAY BACK A FUCKING DEBT?" **CRASH!  
**_Hesitating, Shinra brought the phone back to his ears, "H-Hello...?"  
"Shizuo..!" a sigh. "Sorry, Kishitani."  
"Oh, Tanaka? What a relief! I was scared Shizuo had called me in his rage and was going to yell at me!"  
"Ah, sorry 'bout that. Anyways, Shizuo's been...upset lately. He won't tell me the details that much and I don't want to push him; think you could help him? I have a job to conduct and well...it's hard to do when my debtors relocate."  
"Hmm, sure~. After all I keep telling him something bad is going to happen to him if he doesn't just tell someone what's wrong."  
"Well, thanks in advance. I'm going to go see if they're still alive." _Click._

"Geez, Shizuo...really?" Shinra sighed as he hung up the phone.

'[_Morning, Shinra._]'  
"Celty~~~! My most beloved and dearest wife-to-be~~~!"  
'[_Don't get ahead of yourself. And it's nice to see you, too._]'

The black haired man pouted as the headless woman went to the couch. Following her, Shinra hugged her from behind the couch. "You're almost as difficult as Shizuo..."  
'[_What's wrong with Shizuo this time? Is he stressed again?_]'  
"Well, I'm not exactly sure...But he is definitely not all right. And...it seems like he's kind of sad..not necessarily stressed...well..not entirely."  
Celty's shoulders slumped, as though she was sighing. '[_I'd talk to him but I've been having a lot of jobs lately._]'

"Hmmm...I'll just have him over today. I think I've got an idea..."

'[_Oh, dear. What now?_]'  
"Well, you know how Izaya has been feeling not so great either?"  
'[_...To be quite honest he seems just as annoying and pleased about it as usual._]'  
"Heh," the doctor fixed his glasses. "That's how he wants it...Well, he has been feeling rather badly, but as usual he's avoiding talking to me about it. So, I'm going to have them chat with each other but they'll never know who the other is~!"  
'[_You do realize that Shizuo hates the Internet, right? Especially after that whole Yellow Scarves fiasco._]'  
"...Oh."  
'[_Not to mention, knowing Izaya, he could easily hack the chat-room and obtain Shizuo's user information._]'  
"Oh...yeah..."  
After a brief silence, the Dullahan reached up and ruffled Shinra's hair gently.

'[_We can still use your idea. Let's just refine it a bit, all right? I have an idea how to go about this all as well._]'

* * *

"...Come again, Shinra?" the information broker said, unable to control the incredulous expression on his face.

"Well, either you write letters to this nice friend of mine who also has been feeling not so well, or you talk to me. Your choice."  
"...How about neither?" Izaya asked rhetorically, rolling his eyes with a smirk and starting to stand up from the couch.

The doctor caught his wrist and tugged him down with surprising strength.

"Izaya Orihara," Shinra began, his voice stern and cold. Noticing the nervous flutter in the younger man's eyes, he knew he had the troublemaker's attention. "Unless you want to lose the one friend that you have and one of the only people that cares about you, I suggest you listen to me." He paused and his expression softened slightly, "...It's for your own good."

The information broker's expression quickly went from nervous to distraught to indignant. Glaring off to the side with a scowl on his usually smirk wearing face, he folded his arms irritatedly, "...You must be so damn pleased with yourself and manipulating me right now..."

"Well someone has to be able to rein you in here and there, right~?"  
"Shizu-chan already does that enough, thanks..." Shaking his head, Izaya rose from the couch and went to his desk. "Read this and I'll never forgive you."  
"Does this mean that you forgive me for the manipulating~?"  
"No."

* * *

After watching Shinra leave via security cameras, Izaya pulled on his jacket and dashed for the door. Narrowly sidestepping Namie who was just coming in for work, he said, "Out for the day, take care of any complications!"  
"...I hate you," he heard behind him as he got further along. However, the information broker ignored the statement, a determined look in his eyes.

'_Like hell I'm letting you walk off with a letter to an anonymous person, Shinral Sure I didn't put anything revealing about what you want me to write about but still!_'

Izaya slowed down and peered around the corner. Just as he had expected, Shinra was still there, with his back turned. The younger man grinned to himself.

And so the information broker stalked the doctor about the entire day.

* * *

Interestingly enough, the first stop for the bespectacled man was the apartment of Shizuo Heiwajima.

'_He wouldn't give it to Shizu-chan would he..?_' Skeptical but curious, Izaya carefully pressed his ear against the apartment door. His muscles were tense and ready to spring away, should anything call for it.

"You need something, Shinra?" Shizuo's voice asked, calm.  
"No, no, just making sure you're not in jail from being too violent nowadays."  
"..Nah..Not yet anyways."  
"Heh, just find someone to share your deepest darkest secrets with~. I mean, you _do_ need someone since you won't tell me or Tom anything."  
"I know; that all?" Izaya could almost imagine the wry, sheepish smile on the protozoan's face though it was hard to imagine it as anything other than pissed off.  
"Mhmm~. I have to go deliver a letter, after all."  
"A letter?"  
"Yup~. See ya~!"

The younger man took that as his que to scram and hurried around the corner and listened to the sound of a door opening and closing, footsteps moving away, and Shizuo sighing.

* * *

The next person that Shinra stopped to chat with was Simon. The Russian tried to sell him some sushi and the doctor humored him a bit before saying, "Maybe next time, Simon. I have a letter I need to give to someone."

All through the day, this pattern continued. With Kadota and company, with Mikado, and with Mika and Seiji.

To make matters worse, when the bespectacled man returned home to Celty, they had a conversation which revealed what Izaya had been hoping was not the case.

'[_How was your day? I had some jobs cancelled so if you want I can talk to Shizuo._]'  
"No, no~ It's fine, I've gotten him taken care of."  
'[_All right..Well how did today go?_]'  
"Oh it went fine~ I delivered Izaya's letter to the recipient."  
'[A_h, that's good. Does Izaya know who it is?_]'  
"Nope~."

Izaya widened his eyes slightly before holding his forehead in his hands.  
"...Fuck."

* * *

_This was fun to right at certain points~ XD I'm also having too much fun torturing Izaya with the fact that he doesn't know who he's going to be confiding in. Yeah..not to mention the planned out plot that I have is having him turn into such a mess...yeah...oh well_

_...Imma go actually do homework now *crawls away*_

_Feedback please~? it helps me feel more motivated to write XD_

_Until next time~~~_


	3. Chapter 3

_I DO NOT OWN DURARARA!_

_...I should be studying for English and typing my essay for history...XD;_

* * *

Shizuo sighed as his reached for his cellphone

"What?" he answered, his tone sharper than usual.  
"Hey, it's Shinra."  
"Hn? What do you need?" he asked, his tone now calmer.  
"Nothing really. Well..actually I guess I need you to cooperate."  
"...What are you planning?"  
"Well, I'm going to be stopping by your house tomorrow, so don't talk about this phone call at all cause I might have a stalker."  
"'Kay...Wait-_What_?" the blond stopped in his tracks.  
"Oh don't worry~! He's just like that~. But anyways, I'm going to be telling you something that is probably going to help you."  
"Help me?"  
"Well you haven't been feeling so well and it shows."  
"I'll be fine.."  
"Pleaaaaaaaaaaase cooperate?"  
He sighed, "No..."  
"Please please pleaaaaaaase, Shizuo! Tom asked."  
"...Fine," the bodyguard grumbled before abruptly hanging up.

As he shoved his cellphone back into his pocket, he continued walking home.

"I guess I can't complain if they _want_ to trouble themselves with helping me out.."

* * *

The next day, Shizuo was smoking by an open window in his apartment when he heard a knock at the door. He took one last long drag out of the cigarette before snuffing it and tossing it out the window. He went to the door and looked through the seeing hole briefly before opening it.

"You need something, Shinra?" he asked, avoiding glancing out in the hallway for any stalkers as he let in the doctor and shut the door.  
"No, no, just making sure you're not in jail from being too violent nowadays."  
"..Nah..Not yet anyways."  
"Heh, just find someone to share your deepest darkest secrets with~. I mean, you _do_ need someone since you won't tell me or Tom anything."  
"I know; that all?" the blond could feel a wry, sheepish smile creep onto his face.  
"Mhmm~. I have to go deliver a letter, after all."  
"A letter?" he raised an eyebrow.  
"Yup~. See ya~!"  
"..'Kay..See you later," the ex-bartender said as Shinra left.

* * *

It wasn't until later that he noticed the two envelopes on his kitchen counter.

"...What the..? What are these?"

Picking up the letter on top which read on the front "_T__o Shizuo_", Shizuo turned it over in his hands and opened it.

_'Remember the phone call I gave you last night? This letter is going to explain what I need you to cooperate with._

_I have another friend who is also having some emotional troubles right now. He's not exactly a good person (as I'm sure you'll find out soon enough) but he needs someone to talk to and refuses to talk to me. I'm hoping you two can eventually become close through writing letters to each other and that way you two will be able to confide in each other._

_By the way, use a pen name, this guy has a tendency to do everything he can to figure out what he wants to know._

_-Shinra Kishitani_'

Shizuo sighed, "So basically you don't want to deal with this other guy and want me to do so that we'll both actually talk to someone? Joy...could have just simplified this and made it so that we can meet each other...Whatever."

The blond then placed the opened letter from Shinra beside the unopened one. On the unopened letter's own front it read in an elaborate script '_Psyche_'.

"..I'm just gonna say he's using a pen name..." he muttered to himself before ripping open the envelope.

'_Greetings Unfortunate-Reader,_

_If you're reading this and are not Shinra then you, too, have been roped into this ridiculous plan. Ah, well, misery loves its company, right~?_

_Anyways, I find this most odd how we're being forced to write old-fashioned letters to each other, don't you? After all, there is this **magical **thing called the Internet that people use nowadays. Hehehe, that is if you're not some stupid protozoan. Maybe we can persuade Shinra to make this digital. After all, it would simplify things and we wouldn't have to worry about Shinra peeking at our letters~. Speaking of which: was this already opened or tampered with when Shinra handed it to you?  
I don't particularly feel like spilling my guts to you at this moment but I suppose if I don't then you might tattle to Shinra, depending on who your are~. Hmm...Shinra is my only friend. Oh, and since I have so much free time I either go trolling about online or in real life~._

_There you go. That's all you get and no complaining or else ;P ~~~_

_Lovingly,  
Psyche~~~_'

"...What kind of freak is Shinra making me talk with now...First Izaya in high school, now this? Ugh.." the bodyguard shook his head before setting down the letter and digging around his apartment for a pen and paper.

"Err...a penname...a penname...Dammit..!"

* * *

_I hope I'm not updating to quickly or anything XD I just actually have...well...am pretending to have free time and really want to write this. Not to mention writing fanfiction makes me feel less stressed. XD_

_...*crawls away to do homework*_

_Feedback~~~? It helps motivate me~~_

_Until next time~!_


	4. Chapter 4

_I DO NOT OWN DURARARA!_

...should be doing homework should be doing homework should be doing homework

* * *

Frowning, Izaya agitatedly paced about his office. He almost understood why Shizuo smoked so much.

"Who could it be; who could it be; who could it be...dammit, Shinra.!"

* * *

When Namie finally walked in several hours later, as the sun was beginning to shine in the sky, she found the black haired man plucking books and binders out of their shelves and tossing them over his shoulder or shoving them in unrelated shelves. The secretary sighed in an attempt to calm herself as she set her possessions down at her desk. She then went over to the information broker with a discarded binder in hand and hit him on the head lightly with it.

"Now now, Namie~ You know you can't kill me~"  
"I can dream," she said as she began fixing the mess. "Don't take your frustration out on me, by the way."  
"Frustration? Hehe, what frustration~?" Izaya grinned as he sat in his swivel chair.  
All he recieved was a brief glare.

The pale man sighed dramatically, "You're just no fun~"  
"Go to Ikebukuro and bother that Heiwajima. Get killed while you're at it."  
"In a bit, in a bit~. Make me some tea first- I pulled an all nighter."

* * *

Feeling awkward, Shizuo fixed his glasses as he waited for either Shinra or Celty to answer the door.

"Huh, Shizuo? So great to see you~"  
"You just saw me yesterday, Shinra. No need to be so exuberant," Shizuo said, shaking his head slightly with a sigh.  
"I guess. Anyways, come in- what do you need?"  
"I'm only...Are you still being stalked?" the blond lowered his voice.  
"Hmm? Oh, no. He's probably sulking in his office or something like that. Depends if he's alone. Why do you ask?"

The bodyguard fished out of his vest his own response letter and thrust it into Shinra's hands. With that, the taller man turned on his heels and began to walk away as the doctor looked at the envelope in his hands, "See ya."

Strolling through Ikebukuro, Shizuo was in a good mood aside from the slight headache he was receiving. It was later on in the day, when he heard an irritatingly familiar voice that he realized the cause of his headache.

"What's up, Shizu-chan~?"

* * *

Izaya could see the older man's body tense up the moment he had uttered his nickname. He could feel his own grin widen and he fingered several knives in his jacket pockets.

The blond man a yard or so in front of him slowly turned to face him. "..How many times now has it been that I've told to stay the hell out of Ikebukuro now, flea?"  
"Hehe~ I'd say at least 238 times this year, Shizu-chan~. But, shall we just cut to the chase~?"  
A dangerous grin of murderous intent found its way onto the blond's face. A grin that information broker was very familiar with.

"Gladly," the older man replied, simultaneously uprooting a nearby stop sign.

Stepping back in anticipation of the sign about to be swung, Izaya threw three knives in quick succession. As the sign did in fact fly through where he had been, two of the knives clanging off of the metal and the third knife barely missing the blond's head, the younger man lightly hopped back several more yards.  
A snarl rose out of Shizuo and he viciously threw the stop sign, it landing in the exact spot from which Izaya had barely managed to step away from.  
The everwidening and everpresent cheshire grin upon his face, the information broker laughed a bit as he threw several more knives at the taller man.

"**_IZAYA!_**" the ex-bartender bellowed, giving chase.

* * *

Several hours, vending machines, and sign posts later, the troublesome younger man had finally managed to slip away.

"Hehe, you're far too reactive _not _to bother, Shizu-chan~," Izaya chuckled to himself, ringing Shinra's doorbell.

"Hmm, Izaya? What're you do-"  
"Where's my letter, Shinra?" the younger man asked, his eyes gleaming expectantly.  
The doctor sighed and shook his head, "You don't have enough patience.."  
"I have plenty of patience."  
"Of course, of course," the bespectacled man rolled his eyes, "just not right now."  
"Precisely," the information broker beamed. "Now anyways, letter."  
"Just give me a few moments, Izaya."

And true to his word, Shinra returned several moments later with a letter in hand. "Here you are, now go get some sleep. It's not healthy to get as little as you do on a regular basis. And just come to me when you have a letter. I'll come to you when I get his letters. Go it?"  
"You're such a worrywart, Shinra~~ And fine, fine. But if I don't get a letter within 3 or 4 days after sending mine I'm going to pester you as much as I bug Shizu-chan~."  
"Then the same will hold for me...except for the bothering part. I'll find other ways to make you write."  
"My, my~ Well, I'll be off~" the information broker grinned mischievously before turning away into the darkness.

'[_Does he realize how obsessed he sounds about Shizuo..?_]' the dullahan asked the doctor as he shut the door.  
"Maybe...Maybe not. Regardless, he just needs him for the attention," he shrugged in response.  
'[_How childish...I still don't get how you can read both Izaya- whose face is almost always masked in an irritating smirk- and me- whose face well...I don't even have a head to begin with._]'

* * *

As the talked about information broker, began his way home, he stared at the envelope in his hand. On its front was a simple, almost crude writing which read "_Tsugaru_".

'_To Psyche,_

_I don't like the Internet. I have my reasons. And I honestly don't want to meet you that much. I'm fine with these letters.  
And the envelope was closed still when I got it.  
And I guess I'll say something about myself in turn. Hrmmm, my only actual friends are Shinra, Celty, another person I went to high school with, my boss, and then my brother._

_Aside from what else I've written, there's not really anything else I have to say._

_-From Tsugaru_'

"This handwriting is far too ugly to be a girl's...Sounds a bit like Dotachin but his handwriting isn't this bad...Walker would have mentioned manga or anime..Togusa would have Kaztano as a friend...Not Mikado because he would have definitely mentioned Anri or Masaomi...Most definitely _not _Shizu-chan...but what if Shinra after I left..." Izaya muttered to himself obsessively.

* * *

_Sometimes I really hate Fanfiction...especially when I'm trying to save some progress and then it's all like "lol you're totally not logged in 'n stuff and you, like, just lost all your progress, derp'_

_Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed. ^^; I'm going to...hopefully actually do my homework XD_

_Feedback/reviews? They motivate me to write more~_


	5. Chapter 5

_I DO NOT OWN DURARARA!_

* * *

'[M_orning, Shinra._]'  
"Hmm? Morning, my love~," Shinra beamed at the blurry headless woman on the couch as he cleaned his glasses. Once he had placed said glasses back on his face, he was greeted by a letter held up by Celty.

"What's this?"  
'[_Another letter to deliver. "Psyche" came by early this morning with it._]'  
"Quite eager to do this isn't he?" the doctor chuckled, taking the letter in hand. "And to think I had to practically twist his arm into doing this." He then sighed, "Hopefully he and 'Tsugaru' are actually going to do what I hoped they would do."  
'[_You aren't reading them?_]'  
"Not at all! The two of them would probably gang up on me if they found out from each other that the envelopes were coming to them opened already."  
'[_True. Well, I'm going to watch some movies that are going to be playing on TV. Care to join me?_]'  
"When I get back from dropping of this letter at 'Tsugaru's'. I love you~," the black haired man smiled cheerily and kissed the side of Celty's neck. He chuckled as a large puff of black smoke rose from her neck stump and she flusteredly managed to type on her PDA '[_I love you too._]'

* * *

After walking back to his office from an early meeting with Shiki and his lot, Izaya slumped in his swivel chair. Turning away from Namie, he sighed quietly and frowned.

However, just as the information broker was beginning to sink into his thoughts, a voice interrupted him. "First client of the day," Namie grumbled.

As the door opened, the pale man sprung from his swivel chair, a charismatic air about him. "So great to see you~."

* * *

Having had a more successful and not as violent day at work, Shizuo couldn't help but smile to himself as he made his way home at dusk.

He was contemplating calling Kasuka when he opened his apartment door and found a letter labelled '_Psyche_.' He sighed and knelt down to fetch it.

As the bodyguard sat on the couch, he proceeded to eat the Russian Sushi he had picked up along the way home. Once he had finsihed, he sighed again and opened the letter.

'_Most Dearest Tsugaru~_

_Aww~ You don't want to meet me? Are you just being shy or do you really not like me that much~? So mean!  
__And only four people? Wow, you must be lonely!  
Hmmph, these letters are boring being so short. Make this one you write to me longer!_

_Love,  
Psyche~~~~~_'

The blond winced slightly at the lonely comment but muttered to himself, "Says the one who said Shinra was his only friend..."

After he nearly tore his apartment apart looking for some paper, Shizuo began to scribble away at the kitchen counter. After he had finished his letter and signed it, he glanced at the clock. It was the flea's haunting hours, and the blond hardly felt like dealing with someone who would make him fly into a violent rage. He then sighed and headed for the door with the letter in hand.

"Maybe if I'm lucky I won't run into him.."

* * *

Having twirled about in his swivel chair for a near half hour now, Izaya boredly stared at his computer screen. No-one was in the chatrooms and he had no new emails.

"How boring!" the information broker sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "There's no-one to bother!"

'_And no-one to pay attention to me,_' he thought vaguely in the back of his head.

Widening his eyes at this, he quickly shut down his computer and leapt to his feet. "No way in hell I'm going to let my mind wander in that direction, dammit," the usually charming man growled as he hastily tugged on his jacket.

Wandering Shinjuku to the train, Izaya found several people who he could troll. However...they were all so easy to predict without even bothering to bother them. He loved humans so dearly; he loved their easy to predict reactions...yet the information broker found himself yearning for something he couldn't predict.

The notion of not being able to manipulate someone and not knowing their actions beforehand terrified him...but it made him feel the slightest bit of hope. A shred of hope that...maybe there was a chance that the unpredictable person could, by an unlikely chance, love him.

Now in Ikebukuro, the black haired man frowned and shook his head, _'Humans don't love me even though I love them...Just stop thinking about it..! I love them...that's enough...Isn't it..?_'

He bit his lip and leaned against one of the nearby walls. He looked up at the sky frustratedly before glaring down at the ground and then squeezing his eyes shut.

As his thoughts consumed him, he neglected to take notice the scent of cigarette smoke in the air.

"Why won't anyone love me..?"

* * *

_...Not really sure what to say right now. So yeah XD_

_Feedback/reviews are encouraged and wanted and greatly appreciated! Not to mention they motivate me to keep writing!_

_Until next time~_


	6. Chapter 6

_I DO NOT OWN DURARARA!_

* * *

Shizuo had just snuffed out the remains of his most recent cigarette underfoot then he heard an all-too-familiar voice utter in a not-too-familiar tone:

"Why won't anyone love me..?"

Concerned and in disbelief, he peered around the corner to find that the owner of the voice was in fact Izaya Orihara. Part of him boiled in rage at the prescence of the younger man...but part of him also felt quite sad at such a wretched sight.

Rather soon, he heard the information broker choke up, as though about to cry.

"Sh-shit..!" the black haired man hissed under his breath, rubbing at most likely stinging eyes. He then took several deep breaths, in through his nose and out his mouth.

Shizuo just couldn't bring himself to lash out at the troublesome man. He felt to sorry for the pitiful creature, and could only stand frozen in his tracks, watching as the other man sank down with his back against the brick wall.

* * *

"Sh-shit!" Izaya sharply muttered, his eyes beginning to burn and his throat choking up. Furiously, he rubbed at his eyes and then leveled out his breathing.

He could feel his legs shaking and avoided wondering whether exhaustion or emotional distress was causing it as he slid down to sit. From there, the young man continued to stare up at the slim strip of visible sky in a hopeless, desperate manner- as though he expected the answer to come falling from the sky.

Instead rain did.

"Of course..." he said softly, a wry smile upon his pale lips as he brought his legs close to his chest and hid his face in the crook of his arms which he had then folded on top of his knees. Izaya bit his lip momentarily before burying is face further into his forearms.

'_Let me be soaked through...I just want to sleep..I want to go faraway...Like Tsugaru..I'm sure even though he only has a few companions he's content..Heh...I'm the lonely one...Maybe I keep writing not so that Shinra won't get angry..but...so that I can make Tsugaru like me..._' The black haired man then chuckled hollowly to himself and muttered a muffled, "As if."

* * *

Shinra almost dropped his mug full of coffee that rather stormy night when he opened the door.

For several hours, after the soft drizzling had started, the sky had rained hard and long. He had just finished shooing Celty off to bed after she had come home soaking wet when someone had come knocking at the door. He expected to be either Shizuo or Izaya, judging by the hours.

Not both of them.

"OhdeargoddidyoukillIzaya?"  
"No."  
"Then why isn't he moving?"  
"He's _sleeping. _Not dead."  
"...Please tell me you haven't taken up watching people sle-"  
"**_What do you take me for? Him?_**"  
"Please don't yell, I just sent Celty off to bed so she wouldn't catch a c-"  
'[_Shinra, what's going on..?_]'  
"Well you see,-"  
'[_Is Izaya dead?_]'  
"For the last damn time, I didn't kill him! Not yet at least."

Finally, once Celty had woken up enough to atually make everyone settle down in the dining room attached to the living room, Shizuo began to explain himself.

"So...basically, Shizuo, Izaya was seeming very depressed and such. He eventually ended up sitting down as it began to rain and, after a while, it started raining even harder. However, he had somehow fallen asleep? And since you felt bad for him- which I find peculiar seeing as it's you two -you decided to carry him here?"  
"Pretty much."  
"Huh...This all seems very orchestrated.."  
"It happened!"  
"I believe you! I believe you! I just feel like Erika would think of-"  
'[_Don't tell me you're considering what she had said to be true again!_]'  
"Weeeeell..."

* * *

The blond found himself blushing as Shinra began pointing out all of Erika's evidence which was, in the doctor's opinion, entirely plausible. Luckily, the headless woman managed to shut the bespectacled man up before Shizuo could even get close to becoming enraged.

Attempting to be calm and to hide his blush with his sunglasses, Shizuo stood up and fumbled for the letter tucked in his vest.

'_Why the hell am I blushing..? It's disgusting not embarassing dammit! I hate Izaya! He can go die for all I care! Hell, I'll kill him myself!_'

But when the ex-bartender glared at the man sleeping on the nearby couch, his anger for the most part melted. he couldn't stand how helpless Izaya was being. It was unusual, a break in the pattern for the grinning, secretive informant. And if Shizuo didn't hate Izaya...then what did he feel?

"You and Psyche really write fast, don't you two?" Shinra asked as he accepted the outstretched letter.  
"The letters are short right now," the blond shrugged. "And I'll be heading out now. Do what you want with the flea." He put a little more emphasis on "flea" as though degrading Izaya would re-ignite his hatred.  
"Okay..." the doctor trailed off confusedly as the bodyguard walked out.

* * *

Izaya awoke some time around noon and definitely not in the alley in which he recalled falling asleep in.

However, he found himself not shot in the leg and not handcuffed to a bed in a mostly empty room, so he considered himself fortunate. He even had dry, warm clothes he noted as snuggled closer into the blanket he was wrapped under before sitting up.

The information broker let out a sigh of relief when he saw he was in Shinra's home. Judging by the fit of the clothes, he was probably in Shinra's pajamas. Standing up and stretching, Izaya then let out a content sigh.

"Well rested I see," the black haired man heard behind him.  
He turned and found the owner of the voice to be Shinra. "Shinra~. So great to see you~. I'm guessing your dearest Celty found it in her heart to pluck me out of that dark, damp alley?"  
"Well actually it was Sh-Ow!"

Izaya raised an eyebrow at Celty walking in and immediately striking Shinra. He assumed it was most likely something Shinra had gone and done again.

After greeting and pouting to the dullahan, the bespectacled man turned his attention back to the information broker. "Anyways, no, it was Tsugaru."

"Tsugaru..?" Izaya said, unable to contain his child-like excitement.

Strictly speaking, it hadn't really even crossed his mind that he might randomly meet Tsugaru by chance on the street. He just seemed so far-off and mysterious, like a blond man smoking a pipe in a traditional robe while seated on an old-fashioned house's porch.

A thought then came into his mind. "H-He doesn't know that I'm Psyche, does he..?"  
Shinra blinked once before smiling like usual, "No, not at all."  
The information broker sighed in relief before dismissing himself and changing into his laundered clothes.

It wasn't until he had arrived at his office, that another thought had struck him.

'_I was acting like a shy, lovestruck school girl._'

The 23-year-old man then hit his head on his desk rather hard with a groan. He could feel his secretary's bewildered stare as he muttered to himself, humiliated:

"I should just stick with suicidal people.."

* * *

_It's fun tormenting izaya~ And he totally deserves it if you think about it XD_

_Anyways, it was rather fun writing this, a nice way to wind down at the end of a week and a nice way to distract myself from all this stuff going on here on FF_

_As always I love and want reviews! I love hearing what you guys think and getting the feedback motivates me to write more~_

_Until next time~_


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